9 Signs of Being Overworked

There are many signs of being overworked that you can’t ignore. It takes a toll on your health without you even realizing it. Overworking is one of the worst health problems that the United States is facing. It’s now more important than ever to recognize when you are being overworked.

This is completely different and separate from being taken advantage of at work. When you are being overworked, it could be that you are taken advantage of. However, that may not necessarily be the case. Overworking is a natural phenomenal that we just accept it as fact and true in the United States.

The government places tremendous and enormous value in hard work. Why? The harder you work, the more economic activity there is. The more economic activity there is, the more power the United States has! The government wants you to work even at the expense of your happiness and health.

However, you should refuse to be put in the position. Hard work is great and all but it doesn’t compare to how important health is to your life. Therefore, you should spot the signs of being overworked that way you can avoid it at all costs. The worst part is when we work hard, we feel accomplished.

With the feeling of accomplishment comes the obvious hit of dopamine. Dopamine is what gets us addicted to behaviors that make us feel good. So when dopamine hits us when we feel accomplished is one of the worst things that can happen to us. It teaches us to continue working hard at all costs, even at the expense of our health.

That is not how it should be nor should it be how you operate.

One sign of being overworked is when you are too tired to SLAP that social share button and post to your favorite social media! Not only can it prevent your friends from being overworked, you will be sharing your article for me. So that I can pump out even more helpful content that helps you out in the future.

So with that said, let’s go into the clear signs that you are being overworked.

1) A Sign of Being Overworked is When You are Consistently Sleepy

Signs of being overworked is when you consistently feel tired. — Doesn’t that look enticing?

It’s one thing to be sleepy here and there. It’s not a good thing if you are sleepy for more than 2 nights a week on a consistent basis. It took me a while to realize that my bad sleep schedule for 2+ days per week over the past five years isn’t normal. This is one of the clearest signs of being overworked.

You need at least six hours of sleep per day. If you aren’t getting it on a consistent basis (think over six months to a year) then there’s something wrong. There’s no exceptions. It’s not natural to not get at least six hours of sleep. Whether it’s an actual medical condition or whether it’s because you are overworked, something is causing it.

Don’t ignore this sign. You are not sleepy because it’s normal to be sleepy and it’ll just fade away on its own. You are consistently sleepy because there’s something wrong. If you are one of those people who can function with 5 hours of sleep or less, more power to you. However, if you are not, then it’s time to find out what the actual issue is.

It could very well be due to overwork.

2) There are Physical Changes to Your Body due to Overwork

One of my best friends has white hairs sprouting from his head…. at twenty seven years old. What?! Twenty seven years old?! He tells me how he works till 1am on a consistent basis like that’s a normal thing for him. This is a noticeable and material physical change to his body that is driven by overwork.

One of the signs of being overworked that I experienced was when I got heartburns. My heart physically hurt from thinking about all the task that I need to complete. I thought it would go away with time but as we all know with work, work never goes away or stops.

Therefore, it took me leaving that job to finally get my mindset back on track. After going through that experience, I know what symptoms to look for that I’m being overworked. Whenever I feel that I’m close, I promptly request PTO time and leave the emails out the window out of my attention.

Pay very close attention to your physicality. That’s when it hits you the most.

3) There is No Mental Disconnect Between Work and Life

This is one of the most obvious signs of being overworked. When you can’t separate your mentality between personal life and work, that’s when you are working too much. While you are enjoying a decadent chocolate cake in the depths of Paris, you should not be thinking about work you have to turn in.

You should be enjoying the moment. However, if a deadline is the first thing that pops up into your mind, that’s not a good thing. Work is consuming your innermost psyche in your “me time” moment. There has to be boundaries and clear separation. It’s not like they are paying you the big bucks.

Forget and disconnect all of it. Otherwise, you’re really working 24 by 7 by 365. You’re not giving any time to cool off. It’s better for your company if you do actually disconnect. Ford is the one who made the modern day “weekend” more mainstream. It’s in the company’s best interest to give you that time to disconnect and relax.

4) You Don’t Enjoy Your Paid Time Off

Signs of being overworked is when you can't enjoy vacations. — Do you enjoy your vacation?

It’s one thing to not enjoy your paid time off because it was a bad vacation. it’s another thing to not enjoy your paid time off because of the signs of being overworked. Find out the actual reason why you are not enjoying your paid time off. There could be a variety of reasons but work should never be one of them.

Your company and yourself literally agreed to give you that paid time off so you can rejuvenate and relax. It’s not in the company’s best interests for you to feel burned out. These days, I spend my PTO relaxing and lounging around the house. Maybe catching up on a few chores here and there.

That is enjoyable to me. Not doing anything brings me happiness and joy. There are days when I felt absolutely distracted to enjoy my personal time. That’s when I knew I was being overworked but couldn’t do anything about it. Take careful note of how you feel during your personal time.

It’s what makes the difference between happiness and sadness.

5) Each Day is Just to Get to the Next Day

One of my prior bosses was stressed up to her neck. She was so high strung that she wouldn’t even know when she was yelling. I can’t imagine what her blood pressure levels read. At work, she would talk about how she wants to quit so badly and no one could blame her. However, she’s still working after 3 years of hearing her say those words.

I don’t know why or how she has the energy and the willpower to keep going. I would estimate her net worth to easily clear the million dollar mark. She still kept working anyway. She was using every day as a bridge to get to the next day and doing that over and over again.

Every day should not be used just as a bridge to get to the next day. When days are used for that purpose, that’s one of the signs of being overworked. It could stem from other reasons, low self esteem, bad breakup, or any other reason. However, it might just as well be work that people spend the majority of their time on.

6) You’re Being Overworked if You’re Losing Passion for Life

Not every day has to be filled with unicorns and rainbows with birds singing by your bedside to wake you. Life is not all peaches and cream. However, when you are slowly losing passion and zeal for life, that’s one of the clearcut signs of being overworked. Ask yourself this question right now. Do you feel like you are full of life?

If it’s just a bad week or nothing exciting happened this week, that’s fine. Apathy is not a bad thing. However, it’s when you start feeling unhappiness that is when it starts to matter. When there is negative happiness in your life. Even if work is generally enjoyable, compare your work week versus a week that you take vacation on.

If there is a measurable amount of difference, the unhappiness could stem from your work. The United States is the most overworked country in the developed world. The country just doesn’t focus on happiness, it focus on the its output.

Your interests are not to produce as much as you possibly can and when your need to produce interferes with your zest for life, that’s a problem to fix. The solution is more simple than you can even imagine.

7) You’re Being Overworked if You Get Sick Easily

Signs of being overworked is when you get sick easily. — Do you get sick easily?

Easiest way to spot the signs of being overworked is if you get sick easily. This goes hand in hand with #1 above. When you lack sleep, your immune system is compromised. When it is compromised, you get sick very easily. Overworking leads to this type of behavior.

When you didn’t visit a cold place yet still get a common cold, there’s something wrong. Your immune system combats millions of bacteria and a healthy immune system successfully combats the common cold virus. When you start to get a common cold after spending time in warm temperatures, something is wrong.

Listen to your body. It’s your body telling you that you may just be overworked and it needs a break from everything. Regularly visit your doctor. You are not a “wimp” for visiting your doctor and taking care of your health. There’s no need to suck it up when a simple trip to the doctor can resolve even the tiniest of problems.

Normalize going to the doctor for problems, no matter how small they may seem.

8) You Have no Leftover Energy

Having no leftover energy is one of the signs of being overworked. While you should not be brimming with life ready to tackle on the world by the end of the work day, you should not have zero energy either. Our bodies have a good energy fuel to tackle on work and have leftover energy to do more stuff.

When there is actually none leftover, that’s a problem. It could be because you haven’t worked out in a long time. Or it could be because overwork is taking over your energy levels. When you consistently feel sluggish, there’s a good chance you are being overworked by your company.

You should have more energy in your reserves than you realize. Even if you are in your 40’s and beyond. Proper diet and exercise may help but if it doesn’t, then it’s time to cut back on stress inducing activities. When stress takes over your life and you become high strung with little left over energy, change something.

Otherwise, it’s just work, sleep, and do it all again the next day. You’re just existing and not living.

9) You Lose a Sense of Control Due to Being Overworked

Have you ever felt that you had to finish something but you can’t quit put your finger on what to finish? So then the lack of clearness stresses you out even further? You try to brush it off but you mentally and physically can’t? Your mind constantly reminds you every few minutes that there are things to finish?

One of the signs of being overworked. That unnerving fact makes you even more nervous and you don’t feel like you are in control of your life anymore. You feel no internal locus of control and the circumstances surrounding your life. In turn, you feel guilty and even worse about yourself. As if something devastating will creep up at the last second.

That’s what overworking does to you. You should feel at control of your life, always. It’s not like you are the President of the United States where you are managing the complex intricacies of the world’s policies. You do not depend on millions of people to do their jobs so you can do yours.

Therefore, when you lose the locus of control, it’s time to get back on track. Find the root cause of the problem and fix it.

Look For the Signs of Being Overworked

When you ignore the signs of being overworked is when you have problems. It’s a big problem that needs to be resolved. If the problem is not resolved, it snowballs into even bigger problems. You have to actively take steps to resolve it because it’s not going to resolve by itself.

Your company will continue to give you work, even if you can’t handle the work. Whether we like it or not, the responsibility to take care of yourself is completely on you. I don’t like this aspect of it because your well being and the company’s interests are literally aligned. When you are healthy, the company does well.

However, for some reason, companies don’t see it like that. Therefore, the responsibility and cost is completely on you to figure out how to fix the problem. Talk with your manager, schedule your PTO and set boundaries on what you will not do during that time. Do whatever it takes.

Some slumps are actually permanent and can cause detrimental results to your physical and mental health. Therefore, don’t ignore the signs of being overworked. When I did, it took me 4 months before my psyche returned to normal and it took an actual job change to return to normal.

It’s demoralizing and hurtful to go through the experience. Even the most Type A personalities can’t handle it at times. Burnout is real. Especially during the pandemic. There’s a reason why millions of Americans quit their jobs in droves every month. People are fed up with the high expectations and low pay.

You have more power in your life to mold it into whatever shape you want it to be.